


Things Sweet to Taste

by Ambrose



Category: Julius Caesar - Shakespeare
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-10-17
Packaged: 2018-04-26 18:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5016460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose/pseuds/Ambrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Portia cooks for an upcoming family dinner, and Brutus really wants to taste.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things Sweet to Taste

**Author's Note:**

> reposting here an old tumblr thing. Prompt by romologist: a short domestic scene with Brutus and Portia.
> 
> Title taken completely out of context from Richard II: "Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour."

Portia couldn’t say Brutus wasn’t appreciative of her work, that was for sure. He’d been hovering over her, often holding her by the waist to peek over her shoulder and comment on how good it smelt. He must have asked her twice already about tasting it – like a kid on a road trip always wondering when they should arrive. Well, except she didn’t really mind Brutus’s attention. Except of course when he kissed her in the neck and she almost poured too much salt into her sauce by accident – but she wasn’t about to complain.

To his credit, he was also helping her with the sides, making the salad, setting the table… He just had nothing else left to do but wait on her. He was probably just as stressed as she was about this dinner, and that must make him restless. But if she had to be honest, she knew no amount of preparation and good food would make a family dinner with both hers and Brutus’s parents go well.

She smiled at him, trying to be encouraging.

“It’ll soon be ready, don’t worry.”

“Can I try it then? Please?”

She sighed, and added paprika to her sauce – and that’s when she got an idea.

“Sure,” she smiled, and took a spoonful of the mixture. There was more paprika than sauce in what she gave him. She kept smiling as she held it to his mouth, being careful that the smile didn’t turn into a smirk.

For a second, Brutus made looked like it was delicious, which had her wonder if she messed-up somehow – and then he became all red in the face, trying not to look like he’d just eaten too much spice, and Portia had trouble repressing a laugh.

She might have regretted it when he tried giving her a taste of her own medicine – quite literally – but she escaped his embrace, giggling. And then she had to go back to preparing the food, lest it burnt – they both knew Servilia would start criticizing everything the moment she set a foot into their house, better not give her such opportunities as burnt food – so she managed to avoid any retaliation. That is, until Brutus dabbed on her nose some of the cream he was mixing in with the strawberries for dessert.

And the dinner might still be a complete disaster, she thought as she tasted the now properly mixed sauce to check that it wasn’t actually too spicy, but if anything, they were together in this. And perhaps this time they could go through the ordeal with a smile on their face.


End file.
